RPS staff present revised FY2026 budget: $14.6M net new revenue, $13.8M in proposed cuts; board presses for vacancy details

Richmond Public Schools staff presented a first read of a revised fiscal year 2026 operating budget Monday, outlining expected revenue increases, a series of reductions to close the gap and several board questions about staffing impacts and program tradeoffs.

In his presentation, Mr. Cameron (RPS finance staff) summarized the revenue picture: “From the city, based on recent city council discussions, it appears that our increase will be 9,600,000,” and “we expect just shy of $12,000,000 in increased revenue from the state.” He added that close to $3,000,000 of one‑time revenue would come from historic tax credit funds related to the Fox project, producing a near‑term net increase of about $14,600,000 for FY2026.

The administration told the board it intends to fully fund all collective bargaining agreements as a top priority. Mr. Cameron said priority 2 allocations include roughly $16.8 million tied to those agreements and that the “lion’s share” of that amount covers salary increases for teachers and licensed staff. He also described a roughly $9 million figure referencing teacher raises in personnel commitments and a plan to raise the starting pay for care and safety associates to $44,000.

To balance the books, the staff outlined about $13.8 million in reductions. Major items include eliminating long open vacancies (about 30 positions, described in the presentation as vacancies open more than six months and having minimal class‑size impact), operations and academic office cuts, reduced central office operating dollars, and expiration of long‑running contracts such as a legacy energy performance contract. The capital improvement plan was presented at $2.5 million, with priorities including fire safety panel replacement, plumbing fixes and a roof replacement at Richmond Community.

Board members pressed for more detail. Mister Percival asked specifically for vacancy durations; Mr. Cameron said many vacancies have been open more than six months, some as long as a year, and pledged to provide a list that details location, duration and estimated impact. Percival also asked how decompression funding was handled and Cameron explained that decompression adjustments were moved into salary lines and the remaining earmarked pot was excess that could be removed.

Members also asked about the administration’s ability to recruit 55 multilingual teachers tied to state funding. Mister Percival asked whether the district could fill 55 seats by the July 1 start of the funding window; Mr. Cameron said the district would “shoot for it” but would not guarantee full hiring by that date and that the district would draw down funds beginning July 1 and use the year to meet hiring targets.

Several board members raised concerns about the operational effect of removing “long open vacancies” and asked staff to ensure hard‑to‑staff or historically under‑resourced schools are not disproportionately affected. Miss Burke and Mister Jafari asked for explicit lists and impact statements for the affected positions. Mr. Cameron agreed to return with that information for the board’s review.

The budget document will return for follow‑up and adoption at the board’s June business meeting after the administration provides the requested vacancy detail and other clarifications.